Description
After the defeat of the Jacobite army in Ireland in 1690, many thousands of soldiers and their families left Ireland forever, most travelling to France, in what is known as the ‘Flight of the Wild Geese’. These soldiers joined the royal French army, forming La Brigade Irlandaise. The Brigade famously routed the Austrian army at the battle of Cremona in Northern Italy. An officer of the successor to the Irish Brigade, Napoleon’s Légion Irlandaise, renamed the entire townland and his house at Foxhall in the Swords area of County Dublin to ‘Cremona’, to commemorate the victory. The original 18th century house and gate lodge at Cremona survive intact to this day, evolving as a living history and research venue dedicated to overseas Irish militia heritage.
The Cremona commemorative shirt collection pays homage to the many Irish legions and militias formed across the globe, from the Tercio Irlandés of Spain of 1587 to the Irish Transvaal Brigade of South Africa 1899. Editions currently available: 1. La Légion Irlandaise; 2. La Brigade Irlandaise; 3. Irish Militia Heritage; 4. Montgomery Guard of Boston; 5. La Légion Irlandesa de Simon Bolivar; 6. La Armada Invencible; 7. Flight of the Wild Geese; 8. The Sarsfield Grenadier Guard of California; 9. La Légion de Patricios de Buenos Aires; 10. El Batallón de San Patricio, Mexico.
